Caster-socket.



G. E. NEUBBRTH.

CASTBR SOCKET. APPLICATION FILED 11111313, 1914.

15128523. Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

esses;

GEORGE E. NEUBERTH, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

CASTER-SOCKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, i915.

Application led .T une 13, 1914. Serial No. 844,862.

T0 all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, GEORGE E. NEUBnRTi-I, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Caster-Sockets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved socket for casters and is adapted for use with any form of caster, although it is particularly adapted for the standard type, the socket being of the kind that is used on hollow posts of beds and the like, the post or tubing being provided with a socket which is permanently affixed to the tubing, the pintle member being detachable from the socket.

The invention relates to a socket of this kind which is inserted in a tube and is then manipulated so that it is permanently attached to the tubing, this being accomplished by the manipulation of an eXpansible gripping device which is arranged on the socket so that when in place it is within the tubing or post in which the socket is secured. The socket is adapted to be secured to posts of different interior diameters, the same socket answering for different forms and sizes of posts.

In the ordinary spring type of socket, which is compressed as it enters the posts, the spring members being normally farther y apart than the interior diameter of the post,

a different socket must be made for each different form of post. Furthermore, posts are very often of the same diameter on the outside, but of a different diameter on the inside, since different gages or thicknesses of material are used in the different posts according to the quality of the work and the size of the bed or other piece of furniture of which the post is a part. This necessitates the carrying by a bed manufacturer of a great many dierent sizes of sockets for the different interior diameters of the posts. Vith my invention this objectionis overcome as the socket is normally smaller than any of the interior diameters of 'the'posts, of course Within a certain range of diameters, and the socket is adapted to-be expanded within these different sizesv of posts so as to lit any of them, and it is therefore necessary to carry only one form'of socket which can be fitted into anyof the posts within a certain range of diameters.

The invention is further designed to provide a socket which can be used both in round or square tubing, and is formed so that it is adapted to be secured against any accidental removal. The insertion and securing 0f the socket is simple, since the socket is constructed so that the eXpansible member is accessible so that a tool can be employed to force the gripping device to its gripping position by a push or blow against the movable or expansible member of the gripping device.

The invention is also designed to provide a socket which engages the post at the bottom and which has a gripping device to engage the post at a considerable distance above the bottom of the post so that the socket is held in line with the post. In other words it is securely fastened in place and does not tilt when the weight of the piece of furniture comes onthe caster or the furniture is pushed to move it along the Hoor. This is an improvement over the old type of caster socket which engages the post only at the bottom or engages it loosely at the top of the socket. since these forms are subject to tilting, and the caster pintle lies at an angle in the post and the turning of the caster is diilicult. My improved socket overcomes this defect and the pintle of the caster is held in the socket substantially inline with the post of the piece of furniture.

rlhe invention is further designed to proi vide a socket which is made of few parts, the parts being all made of sheet metal, although other material can be used so long as the parts can be auickly assembled.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which one embodiment of the invention is shown which', however,

v will be understood to be susceptible to slight modiications and changes without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side view of the socket illustrated as being arranged within the bottom of a post or tube, the

tube being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a` 5 is a cross-section taken on the line 5 5 in Fig. 3.

In the drawing the post or tube 10, which manT be aV postof any article of furniture,

such as a bed, is hollow, these postsbeinig usually made of sheet.,metal,and .Whilethey are of the same diameter on the outside, 'different thicknesses of material are yuseduso that different posts will have different interior diameters. Thefsocket is adapted',` to tit within this post and is provided with a pintle-receiving means andv alsomeans-for fastening it within the postor tube, and also r `with "mea-ns for limiting its-'entrance linto the "tube, thislbeing usually-by-rneans of a stop fthat engages the l*bottom l'end "of the tube. 4vThe ilislr-"torlimiting this entrance "of Vvtlfiefso'eket"consists dta disk or Iplate '11 whih' bears against' thei bottom'A edge 'ofthe "postg andA while it mayvbe'made "flat, it" is usuallv lprovided ywith fcorrugations 'to kstiiien it and also to provide "points yion 'which lthe easter'bearsso as to'minimize'thearea of Contact with the )easter '-:an'd thus .eut vdownlth'e frieti'on-"sothat the-:caster can be swiveled in" the `-socket fand will turn easily thereinf when a 'wei ghty is put f on theY Caster. Suheorrugfzgations -areshown'at 12 `and 'Secured to *the disk "is ya =pintleengaging fportion, this?beingrusuallf,1 in the form dif-a 'tubeflfl-whieh tapers towar'dtheftop andhas vslots liti-sofas tofsplitihe-top end'fandgive it V'more 'resiliencv. The tube 14 l)is `usua'llv seeureditothe dislitb7 crimp'infg'ritJ-as at *16 "to-hold it securely? in'place.

`'The 'pint'lefmeiriber 17 mav'f'be'y of anv type, l"but "I Aprefer to fuse `l.the standard type 'f v4member which consists of 2a horni18 which Ahas a Ivpintle 1:9 lwhih vprojets therefrom, the rvpintle 'having itsf vupper end tbulged or enlarged asy `a 1:"20v -so that Vwhen the jpin'tle is inserted inthe' tube Iti- 'the split ytop 'portion is spread by:the*h'ead'andsnaps inA underneath the'ih'ead whenvthefpintle is vpushed all "the wavfimfand thus"hlds thefpin'tle against accidental 'rem'ovfa'l so *tha-t Eit *will not y'fall out when thefpost is-'raisedy sol thatthe pintle is elevatedaboveithe y:floor r"Ih'ef'p'intle,i hoW- ever, f cani-be "removed Aby-fa .fs'tron'g '-'fpull for' a 4fjerk.

"0n *the f'dis'lr is Vmounted Yaisuitable jgrip- 'lpingdevceffor engaging the 'inner walls'or #faces of Afthe :post 10, *this v"gripping idevice bein'gnormlly lsmaller than "the insidediameterx of the fpostf'but lis adapted to cbeexg panded vwhen i the fffso-lr'et is in place so that 'fthe 's'oeket f' is "rigidly -theldiwithin 'fthe post fand f ispefrma'ne'ntly secured therein.- ,'In'the ltype of devieesl-Iown in the drawing lthe -grippin'g =deviee1-eonsists of a I4member VQ1 -nvhieh f is ffastene'd ""to f the di sk, 12the' 5member 21 "being 'f'made -larehshlaped V'with the 1 side `swallsi=22- andiQSf'a'n'd theftop "'Th'efSd *Walls have *lips 225 which projet dOWn ithrough lslots i-26 in `the disk 11 and are :"fturned'fover f-to `fasten^the "member in fixed position on the ange. Onvone end *of't'he fiarhfshapedmeniber, whiehiorfeonvenience :FI :shall 'fealll fin -this .speifiea'tion the "bak endythe edges of the sides 22 and 'Qyare pro- -.vided vwith...inclinedguides 27 which incline `rdownward and inward and are arranged yf-with. an outward flare as shown vparticularly in Fig. et, this outwardly flared portion Q8 `acting as a guide-way for the movable member of the gripping device. The -movablefmember'Q'Q is usually made of sheet metal and on its side edges it has inr wardly turned 'flanges 80 whiehengage Vthe guides 28 loit' lthefixed*memberso that a -dove tailed :connecting 'portion is 4-iormed which prevents 'i the separation ofthe' 'parts v onA accountfo'tthef'ilare ot the"rv guides '28' and -theeonverging vof 'the 'flanges 30. Atthe bottom of the vmovablemember '29 is :an s in- 'war'dly turned' plate or'anvillw'hieh 'forms an abutment. r1"his abutmentenga'ges at the 'bal 'edgefn32 ofthe-top 24 andthus limits r`"theupward' sliding of' the movable `member land prevents its loss when 'the Vsoelret `'is lhandledbe'fore it is inserted'in` the post10. The dislf` visprovided with Vaperforation" 83 ywhehis lso 'disposedfthat itgvesaccessfto "i vfthe movable 'memben -w-hieh will be Vdeseribed hereinafter.

'When "the socket is to bepl-aced in `the vpostl()fthefvinovab-l'e member is in alow'po- "sitionfas shown in'Fi'g. l so that' the distance 'between-,the bael: edge of the meniber 29 Yand 'the front-'edges of the archeshaped Afmei'nber1is-fas' small as vpossible lso: as to make fthe entrance of the socketintotheposteasjy. fWhenth'e `soeketis in this position -a-suit` "-ableitoolor 4nail 34 iis inserted throughthe holeBS and "by a steady push or" bytapping it 'with a hammer,A themovablemerriber "279 Iis forced up along the guides '27 `fand `is force'd Y1at thefsam'e 'time'outwa'rd `so, as to `VAexpand the 'gripping device yand 'cause `the two members and 29 "to tightly engage "the inner wall ofthe p'o'st 10; 1t lwill ibe understood 'that the outer'ifaees yoithe archshaped member and ithe meniber 29 jean ibe "o'f 'any "suitable lConformation, but in the formv4 shown fthev i are square so that 'the "corners 85l 'engage theinner fface ofthe jp'o'st i10 and securelyA lamp the'soket in lposition. L'It twill be readily 'seen that this f' reeta'ngular tubes f-zdiiferent VTkinds` and when YYYexpanded will tightly `fit within the ftiib'es v'and E"be lheldffagainst removal. Athe fso'ket fisinplaee 'the jpintle fcan' be finseted in "the "soket and"heil"d `as "above described. I "The top "24 -o"f""the Larchshaped that the socket when-ipllaeedn thep tienpost at the top of the socket so that the post is engaged at vertically separated points. This construction, which permits this form of fastening of the socket, holds the socket so that the pintle-engaging part is normally in line with the post l0, in the form shown this being the tube 14 which is held against tilting, and the post 10 is held vertically when the weight of the furniture rests on the caster and when the furniture is moved laterally along the fioor. This permits the easy turning of the caster and is an important feature of this invention.

The socket above described is of very simple construction and is easily assembled, it being necessary only to slide the movable member 29 onto its guides, and after placing the member 21 on the disk 11 the fingers 25 are turned over to hold the parts in place.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:-

1. A caster socket having a manually operated device so disposed that it is expansible to its gripping position.

2. A caster socket having expansible means on said socket, the socket being constructed to permit access to said means when the socket is in a post.

3. A caster socket comprising a fixed member, and a member slidable on said fixed member to vary the width of the socket.

4. A caster socket comprising a fixed member, and a member secured to and slidable on the fixed member in an oblique direction.

5. A caster socket comprising a fixed member with inclined guides, and a movable member secured to and slidable in said guides.

6. A caster socket comprising a fixed member with guides that are inclined, the guides projecting outwardly, a movable member, and inwardly projecting inclined ribs slidable on the guides.

7. A caster socket comprising a disk, a fixed member, a movable member, the disk having an opening therein, and an abutment on the movable member and disposed so that it can be operated through the opening in the disk.

8. A caster socket comprising a fixed member, a movable member mounted on the fixed member so that it can slide thereon in an oblique direction, and an abutment on the4 movable member.

9. A caster socket comprising a disk, an arch-shaped member on the disk, the back edges of the member being inclined to form guides, a substantially flat movable member with its side edges provided with flanges inclined to fit the guides of the first member, the movable member being bent over at the bottom to form an abutment, the disk having an opening so that a tool can be forced against the abutment.

10. A caster socket comprising a disk at the bottom of the socket, pintle engaging means projecting vertically from the disk, and an outwardly operable gripping device on the socket, said gripping device being located at the top of the socket, whereby the lower and upper post-engaging parts are vertically separated.

11. A caster socket comprising a disk, and a gripping device projecting vertically from the disk, said gripping device being adapted to be expanded to grip the inside of a post, the gripping device being arranged at a point that is vertically separated from the disk.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereto set my hand, this 12th day of June, 1914.

GEORGE E. NEUBERTI-I.

Witnesses M. A. JOHNSON, H. TRAUTVETTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

